


Fire Lady

by sopaipillas



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: AU, F/M, Post canon, Zutara, Zutara Week, Zutara Week 2017, avatar the last air bender - Freeform, but katara and aang never got together, sorry I suck at tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 10:59:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11599230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sopaipillas/pseuds/sopaipillas
Summary: "A fire Lady must be proper. Must only speak when spoken to. Shall always carry herself with grace. She is, after all, the epitome of grace and etiquette. And a Fire Lady should, above all, respect her husband for he is the Nation, our Honor and our Lord.” Those words echoed in her head as she stared at the silky red gown on her bed. She reached forward and picked the delicate gown. "This is it” She thought, it was the last night before the real thing; the official announcement of her engagement with Zuko. “Is this what being the Fire Lady feels like?”--------------------------------For Zutara Week 2017 Day 1





	Fire Lady

_"A fire Lady must be proper. Must only speak when spoken to. Shall always carry herself with grace. She is, after all, the epitome of grace and etiquette. And a Fire Lady should, above all, respect her husband for he is the Nation, our Honor and our Lord.”_ Those words echoed in her head as she stared at the silky red gown on her bed. She reached forward and picked the delicate gown. "This is it” She thought, it was the last night before the real thing; the official announcement of her engagement with Zuko. _“Is this what being the Fire Lady feels like?”_ The thought haunted her as she laid down the red gown over the bed again, straightening the creases of the silk. Is not that she was unhappy, but she was definitely uneasy, something about this felt off, and she couldn’t put her finger on it. Before Katara knew it, she found herself wandering nearby one of the garden’s biggest ponds, looking at the reflection of the moon on the still water. 

“Can’t sleep?” Katara looked around, not really surprised “Are this things always this complicated here?” she asked. Sokka walked out of the shadows of the garden’s hallway and walked towards Katara, they sat by the edge of the pond. “Well, apparently firefolk like their fancy ways too much and have to do everything big and exaggerated, you know. But, you gotta admit this is unprecedented sis, after all, how many times has a Fire Lord married someone form outside the Fire Nation? Or an ambassador from another Nation?” “Right” Katara smiled as she leaned to Sokka’s side. She let out a sight. Sokka rubbed her shoulder tenderly, his eyebrows frowning slightly when his sister smile dropped to fine line “…Are you having second thoughts about this?” Katara straightened up immediately, her eyes opening wide “What? Sokka! No, of course not“ “Hey, don’t look at me like that! You’ve been acting weird lately, you can’t blame me for worrying” _Ugh_ Katara rested her head on her knees, grunting. She just couldn’t make sense of it. She was so sure this is what she wanted, after years of traveling together, fighting together, flirting, secret relationships and an outrageous public announcement of their status as a couple, she thought marring Zuko would feel right. She wasn’t really having cold feet, was she? 

“Hey, hey– Katara! There’s smoke coming out of your ears, you’re overthinking this” Katara turned her face to the side, cheek squeezing against her knee. “I… I don’t know what’s bothering me so much. I don’t want to get cold feet Sokka, I love Zuko” Sokka scratched his chin, as if he was thinking hard.

“Well, if you’re not sure about this whole thing, we can still make a run for it. I can create a diversion” “Sokka!” Katara slapped her bother’s arm and giggled —when was the last time she even laughed?— “You know I can make some mean stinking bombs, and we can take Zuzu if you want, you know, make him take some forced vacations. He probs needs them anyway” “Yeah, sure Sokka. We’ll just bomb the announcement, probably causing caos, making a huge drawback in the Water Tribe and Fire Nation’s relationship and then kidnap the Fire Lord. Solid plan.” They laughed. Katara sure missed this, just laughing with her brother, may be later going around helping Aang, visiting Toph and getting to kick some ass along side Zuko, like the old days. 

Sokka whipped a tear from his eyes “Aw man, it sure is hard the Royal Life, uh?” “Yeah” Katara laid back, feeling the moonlight soak her in light “I guess I’m afraid that I’m not cut for this fancy life, you know?” “Actually, I don’t Katara. I’m not the one who’s been living in a palace for the past year” “But it’s not usually this hard Sokka. Or at least, it didn’t used to, this whole week —since we announced we wanted to get married to the council— has been about Fire Ladies do this, Fire ladies do that, you have to wear this, blah, blah, blah” Now she was gesturing, voice getting louder “We’ve had three, Sokka, _**three**_ rehearsals for the announcement, can you imagine how the wedding’s gonna be like then?” “—Yeah, fucking nuts” “Exactly! I don’t— I don’t know if this is what I want! I mean, I want Zuko, but, I’m not sure I want to be The Fire Lady” Katara let her arms fall loose at her sides. So this was it, this is what has been troubling her. All this week has been about making her fitting of the Fire Lady name, learning how to stand, how to sit, where to walk, how to talk, how to dress and even how do her make up, as if she were hiding herself underneath all those red silky robes and coats of light powder to make her skin fairer. As if being Katara wasn’t good enough to be the Fire Lady. Katara closed her eyes, forcing the tears to stay put, she breathed in… May be she should put a stop to this, for now. Talk to Zuko, he’d understand, and since they haven’t announced it yet it wouldn’t be much trouble for the council. May be it was time for her to go back home, for a while. Zuko would be hurt, sure, but she needed to think this though better. She needed–

“Then don’t” Sokka’s voice interrupted Katara’s thought, her train of thought disappeared and it took her a moment to understand what her brother was talking about. “What? What do you mean don’t?” Sokka put a hand over his chest dramatically “Wow Katara, may be being inside this fancy walls has been affecting you” he deadpanned. “Look, you’re not getting into this to become the Fire Lady –that’s just colateral damage of loving fire boy I guess– You’re marrying Zuko because you love him, right? End of discussion. I mean where’s that sister of mine who literally fought the patriarchy and kicked Grandpakku’s ass? Where’s the Katara that pulled the Water Tribes closer than ever and put a stop to the nonsense and prejudice of our tribe and the Fire Nation? The first female water bender master recognized by all nations, the Katara I know? C’mon, after saving the world and putting it pack together, facing a little traditionalist Nation should be an easy thing for you, honestly”

Katara looked at her brother in disbelief, sure, it has been almost a decade since they fought Ozai and tried to bring balance to the world again, but sometimes she still forgot how much Sokka and herself had gone through, how much that experience had made them grown since they first left the Water Tribe all those years ago. Katara smiled and Sokka put his arms around his sister, softly petting her hair "Don’t let them bully you into being what they want, just be you” Katara cried a single tear of relief, and thanked her brother. “Sokka, about that diversion…"

———————————————

They had finally stopped pulling her hair. Granted, her thick, brown southern-tribe waves of hair are not easy to tame, but boy did this Fire Nation girls try. They had been at it for at least an hour. Now it was only about one and a half more hours to style it and do her make up, then she’d be ready to get into the four layered red gown sitting on her bed. “Breath Katara, just breath” She thought to herself; she had to control her temper, after all, she had a plan and she did not sleep two hours to let it out of the window because she couldn’t sit still, for the fourth time in a week, as they finished her “proper Fire Lady look”. 

When Katara was finally ready, she asked the styling group and dressing helpers to go to the party, she’d be in the main hall in a few minutes. After the door closed Katara quickly locked it and went to looked in her desk, finally finding the small letter her father had sent her with Sokka: “I’m sorry I can’t be there this time, but I’ll make sure to be there for the real thing. Gran Gran would have liked to give you this herself. I had to have it altered, but I hope you’ll still like it like you used to. You’ve always been a smart girl, and I’m proud to see you become a wonderful woman, intelligent and strong. We could not have a better person representing the Water Tribe out there to the world, a true warrior of our clan with a wise mind and a big heart. I love you and I’m so proud of you Katara, your mother would be so proud. We are all so proud of you. We’ll see each other soon, Dad.” Katara pressed the letter to her chest tightly, her resolution only growing stronger “Yeah, I'll see you soon, Dad” Katara took a deep breath and whispered to herself “Lets do this” as she peeled off the layers of red clothing and looked for the package in her old traveling bag. 

————————————————

Katara was thirty minutes late, but Zuko tried not to think of it, nor did he wanted to excuse his future fiancé’s tardiness with the grumpy council elders again. He just focused on Sokka’s stories –quite popular with the bored crowd– and Aang’s air bending tricks. This had been a very stressful week for both of them and he didn’t wanted to end it badly with a fight and ruining the engagement party over such a petty thing. So what if he was stood up in front of 500 important guests, right? ...May be he should check if she was fine. May be.

Just when Zuko was wondering where the maidens he sent to check up on Katara were, the hall’s doors opened, and with a gasp the crowd split, making room for the lady walking through. 

Zuko was in awe, he didn’t even notice the council’s members jaws dropping and their reddening faces, nor their questions “What is the meaning of this?”

Katara looked incredible; in the red of sea, she stood up in a long gown with different shades of blue, with touches of purple and white, traditional of the Water Tribes. Somewhere on the back of his mind, Zuko thought it must have been altered to fit better for the hot Fire Nation spring, with no sleeves, full of intricate decorations and fur in strategic places, but he didn’t really care. He was transfixed by the way Katara moved: she was taking powerful strides, unlike the short and soft steps the aristocracy girls are taught, head held high and her hands joined to the front. Her voluminous wavy dark hair was half up in an intricate pattern of braids with accent accessories holding it together. Her brown skin was practically glowing, free of any trace of make up and whitening powder that dulled the rich color. 

Without noticing, Zuko walked towards Katara, and met her half way though the hall. Only when Zuko reached for Katara’s hand did he notice the redness in her cheeks and the subtle tremble of her hand. “Kata–“ “Sorry–“ she said almost breathlessly “Let me say something first” Katara cared her throat and turned to the guests, without letting Zuko’s hand go. 

“Thank you all for being here today. My apologies for the tardiness, but there has been a mistake” Zuko’s heart skipped a beat, Katara’s hand tightened around his own “I presume that the reason most of you think we are gathered here today is because I am to become, officially, the future Fire Lady. But that is not the case” Katara made pause to steady herself, the crowd was already whispering among themselves “In the past days I have been taught how to become the perfect Fire Lady, worthy of the Fire Lord, but the reason I am here today is not to announce my marriage to the Fire Lord, but to ask Zuko, the man I am in love with, the man I want to be by my side for the rest of my life, to marry me.” Katara looked around to the crowd, making sure everyone was listening “I want to make clear that, despite that I know that by teaching me your ways you only mean the best for your Nation and your Lord, but this is something else. Today I am not sanding here as an ambassador. Today I am standing here as myself, and I want you to know that the person I choose to love will not determine how or who I am, because, above all, before any kind of Lady, I am Katara, Water Bender Master of The Southern Water Tribe. And I will be given the respect and place I rightfully deserve in this court for my merits in combat and diplomacy, not as a trophy wife. The fact that the person I love happens to be the Fire Lord is another matter altogether. This said–” Katara turned to Zuko, her hand shaking and her eyes full of resolution “Zuko, I want you to know that this is in no way for diplomacy, and I am going to ask you this not as the Fire Lord, but as a man. I love you, like I never thought I could love anyone. We’ve been though so much, good and bad. We come from different paths, opposite sides of the world even, but somehow we always found our way to one another in the end, and that’s how I want us to be for the rest of our lives, together. I don’t know if this royal life is for me but I love you and I will take everything that it means to be your wife with open arms, even if it means to be the Fire Lady. I can’t promise I will be the perfect one, I know I’m stubborn and loud and bossy, but I’m also a water bender master, and if water can do something, is to flow and adjust. So, if you–“ Katara stopped for a second, lowering her eyes as she cupped Zuko’s hand with both her hands. She was shaking "If– If you, want to, would you, marry me?” Only then did her eyes look at Zuko’s again, her hands receding, leaving a necklace into Zuko’s hand. He looked down, the necklace was similar to Sokka’s bone necklace, but this one had black stones instead of the white bone. And in the center it had a deep blue rock, perfectly polished, with a symbol he knew only too well in the center; Katara had once show it to him, it was a symbol for the tides in her tribe. It meant the push and pull of the ocean and the moon, the give and take, two forces working together in harmony, both so different, but always in sync. 

Before Katara could put her hands away Zuko reached forward, gently pulling her close. He placed the necklace back on Katara's hand “…May be you can help me put it on?” Katara chocked up a laugh —or was it a sob?— and reached forward, locking the necklace snuggly around her fiancé’s neck. She let her hands rest on his chest for a few seconds as she looked at her work. The choice of colors had been right, the dark stones didn’t clash with Zukos usual red clothes and matched his skin nicely, but the necklace still had a very Water Tribe air she was very proud of. She’d have to thank Aang again for staying up all night helping her make the necklace, she wouldn’t have been able to make it without him.

Slow clapping started filling the room. Some of the elders still looked in shock, some even angry. Zuko and Katara would deal with them later, now it was all about them and celebrating.

**Author's Note:**

> Boy, do I know how to finish a fic or what.
> 
> Ok ok so I have a few things I'd like to say:  
> 1- this was supposed to be a short comic, like about four or five panels. The story got kinda out of hand and it would take me my whole life to finish this as a comic, so I tried to write it instead.
> 
> 2-About that symbol thing on Zuko’s betrothal necklace, I wanted to add something about how two different forces join each other, forming one unity, kind of like that thing they talk about in the dao de jing; the two opposite parts complementing each other, two making one. But who am I kidding I bullshitted my way through that part as hard as i could.
> 
> 3- this isn’t beta'ed
> 
> 4- thanks for reading <3
> 
> 5- This helped as stress relief writing, I have to give my thesis tomorrow, it’s 2 am and I can’t sleep :) (by the time I publish this I will already have delivered my thesis)
> 
> 6- I haven’t written anything in years, like at least 5 years. But once i really tried to write something long and serious, it had like 16 chapters (that was about 7 years ago) and I don’t even dare go near that stuff, yikes. What I'm trying to say is be gentle please.
> 
> Also if you wanna drop by, my tumblr is sopaipillasvoladoras


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